Wall crawling devices

Abstract

Described herein is electroadhesion technology that permits controllable adherence between two objects. Electroadhesion uses electrostatic forces of attraction produced by an electrostatic adhesion voltage, which is applied using electrodes in an electroadhesive device. The electrostatic adhesion voltage produces an electric field and electrostatic adherence forces. When the electroadhesive device and electrodes are positioned near a surface of an object such as a vertical wall, the electrostatic adherence forces hold the electroadhesive device in position relative to the surface and object. This can be used to increase traction or maintain the position of the electroadhesive device relative to a surface. Electric control of the electrostatic adhesion voltage permits the adhesion to be controllably and readily turned on and off.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from a) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 803,953 filed Jun. 5, 2006, naming Harsha Prahlad et al. as inventors, and titled “Wall-Climbing Robot for Three-Dimensional Mobility in Urban Environments”, and b) co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 866,555 filed Nov. 20, 2006, naming Harsha Prahlad et al. as inventors, and titled “Wall-Climbing Robot for Three-Dimensional Mobility in Urban Environments”; each of these provisional applications is incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes.U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS[0002]This application was made in part with government support under contract number N66001-05-C-8019 awarded by the Department of Defense. The government has certain rights in the invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates generally to devices and methods that provide electrically controllable adhesion. Mo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The present invention provides electroadhesion technology that permits controllable adherence between two objects. Electroadhesion uses electrostatic forces of attraction produced by an electrostatic adhesion voltage, which is applied using electrodes in an electroadhesive device. The electrostatic adhesion voltage produces an electric field and electrostatic adherence forces. When the electroadhesive device and electrodes are positioned near a surface of an object such as a vertical wall, the electrostatic adherence forces hold the electroadhesive device in position relative to the surface and object. This can be used to increase traction or maintain the position of the electroadhesive device relative to a surface. Electric control of the electrostatic adhesion voltage permits the adhesion to be controllably and readily turned on and off. Devices described herein, such as mobile devices and robots, use this controlled electroadhesion to navigate vertical walls and other non-flat surfaces.

Problems solved by technology

Controlled adhesion remains an unmet technological need.

The existing technologies, many of which are still in the lab and not in commercial production, marked for wall crawling fail to provide the full range of these capabilities.

Chemical adhesives are always “on.” While they require no energy to perch, robots that employ chemical adhesive clamping technologies require a lot of energy to climb and traverse horizontally (requiring more batteries and weight), fighting the adhesion which cannot be switched off.

Chemical adhesive technologies can also attract dust and other debris that quickly reduce their effectiveness.

Also, conventional suction cups suffer from leaks and cannot manage dusty surfaces.

Mechanical claws only work on very rough or penetrable surfaces and often leave damaging marks.

Synthetic gecko-like skin can become easily damaged or befouled after repeated use (as few as five cycles), and does not work on wet surfaces.

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